Interferon treatment for multiple sclerosis patients in Hong Kong

KK Lau, PO Lee, KY Chan, YW Chan, KF Chin
Department of Medicine, Princess Margaret Hospital, Kwai Chung, Hong Kong

We report on nine patients with multiple sclerosis who had received interferon beta-1a treatment for 6 months or more. Seven patients were Chinese and two were Caucasian. Seven patients had the relapsing-remitting type of multiple sclerosis, one had the primary-progressive type, and one had the progressive-relapsing type. Among the six compliant patients with the relapsing-remitting type of disease, four had less frequent relapses after treatment. This study could not show whether or not the use of interferon beta-1a was beneficial to non-compliant patients, or patients with other types of multiple sclerosis.

Hong Kong Med J 2000;6:221-3

Key words: Interferon-beta/therapeutic use; Multiple sclerosis/drug therapy; Treatment outcome